Willene Cody picked cotton as a kid. She detested every boll.
Hers was a hard life, but she once told a reporter that she learned three things from her Pickens County upbringing.
"Don't cheat. Don't lie and don't steal," she told the Gainesville Times in the 1980s.
It was a principle Mrs. Cody put to practice in 1977 when she founded Cody Chevrolet of Dahlonega. Back then, the automobile industry was a "man's world," said her son, Clyde Cody of Jasper.
Naysayers expected her to fall on her face, lose everything and embarrass herself. It didn't happen.
Instead, her General Motors operation became a top Southeast dealer. It garnered citations through the years for top sales, overall excellence and customer service. Automotive News interviewed her in 1981 because of her success and, relatives and friends say, for being the first woman in Georgia to found a GM dealership.
During its 21-year run, it became common fare to spot "Cody Chevrolet" imprints on cars across North Georgia. Jimmy Faulkner, at the time a banker with the Bank of Dahlonega, had business dealings with Mrs. Cody for nearly two decades.
"She had loyalty in her customers that was unbelievable," the Dahlonega retiree said. "I was fortunate to have her as a client and to do a lot of business with her over the years."
In 1996, Mrs. Cody was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. It went into remission, but returned four years ago.
On Sunday, Willene Moss Codyof Jasper died from complications of the disease at her home. She was 80. A funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Ellijay Church of Christ in Ellijay. Collins Funeral Home in Acworth is in charge of arrangements.
In 1969, Mrs. Cody's first husband died at a young age and the widow found herself with two small children to raise and a trucking business to run. She had to find new work after a contract to haul chickens was not renewed.
During the mid-to-late 1960s, she had done clerical work for Lawson Chevrolet in Jasper. In search of a challenge, she contacted Chevrolet about establishing a dealership in Dahlonega. It so happens, her son said, that the company was looking to bring women into the industry.
By then remarried, she and Bill Cody, her second husband, sold their farm, the trucking operation and some antique cars for start-up money.
"She was the first woman to acquire a Chevrolet dealership without inheriting it," her son said. "Women in car sales were a rarity. The dealership was in her name, not her husband's."
"It was a male-dominated business for sure," Mr. Faulkner said. "I knew of no other female dealers in Georgia. She overcame that because she was a person of the utmost integrity. She instilled in her employees that the customer was first and foremost."
When Cody Chevrolet first opened, her son washed cars after school and on weekends. He and other relatives held various posts at the dealership till 1998, when Mrs. Cody sold it and retired. The business no longer exists.
"We were never the largest dealer or anything like that," her son said. "Her motives were never the dollar, though she'll tell you we made a good living. But we did it the right way. The dollar never ruled her life."
Survivors other than her husband and son include a daughter, Donna Pooreof Dahlonega; a stepdaughter, Brenda Priceof Jasper; two sisters, Barbara Mabry of Marietta and Joan Locke of Jasper; and two grandchildren.
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